Conventionally, a bed headboard comprises a vertical board or panel disposed at the head of the bed, for aesthetic reasons and with a view to minimising draughts, preventing the displacement of pillows and providing support for a person sitting up in the bed.
Various proposals have been made to provide a tilting headboard which gives improved support for a user, see for example GB patent specification No. 739,389 of Percival Lawrence Way and GB patent specification No. 879,720 of Dunlop Rubber Company Limited.
The Percival Lawrence Way specification provides a headboard/back support which is supported on a pair of upright telescopic struts which are hinged at their top ends to the headboard. It is to be expected that the telescopic struts would be subjected to bending stresses in use and would need to be substantially constructed.
In the case of the Dunlop specification a headboard/back support is hinged near its top edge on a pair of support posts fixed to the bed frame and inclination of the headboard is limited by hinged links fixed to the headboard and to the support posts. The support posts project above the headboard when it is in its inclined position and are thus visible. The posts directly absorb the forces imposed by the user at the level of the hinges i.e. at considerably above the level of the bed. Here again the support posts will need to be substantially constructed.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a tilting headboard which is secure in upright and inclined positions and which is readily adjustable between those positions.
It is another object of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensive tilting mechanism for supporting the headboard which is hidden by the headboard during use.